Sick

Characters: Law, Shachi. Rating: K. Warnings: None

If there was one place Law both loved and despised on the Polar Tang, it was the infirmary. Within it, he was a god. Everything moved to his whims and his control was absolute. The sting in the tail was that his patient was usually a member of his crew, and Law always hated it when his nakama were injured. They were often just a little too reckless for his liking, to say nothing of the carelessly self-inflicted accidents – the only time he ever entered the bowels of the Polar Tang nowadays was to rescue whichever idiot had hurt themselves on the machinery.

When Law had nothing but hate for his infirmary was when he was the patient, as was currently the case.

"Open up," Shachi instructed, brandishing a spoonful of vile tasting yet effective medicine. Law glowered at it as if it were the cause of his current misery – as opposed to the cure it was – before reluctantly allowing Shachi to place it in his mouth. The taste was no more pleasant than the previous dose and Law swallowed it down with a sour face.

Shachi put the spoon and bottle away before returning to his side and neatening the blankets Law was tightly bundled within. Law didn't bother telling him to leave and stop hovering. He'd tried earlier, only for Shachi to look at him as if he were mad.

"Leave you by yourself?" he'd asked incredulously. "Hell no. You'd use your fruit the moment I shut the door." Law had denied it, but they'd both known he was lying. He was fairly certain that if he continued to press, Shachi would leave, but not before slapping kairoseki on him. The ginger's hovering was infinitely more preferable to kairoseki.

"Just sleep it off," Shachi suggested, obviously noticing Law's restlessness. He'd produced a magazine from somewhere – with a half-naked woman on the front Law felt no desire to enquire about the contents, although if he'd had more energy he'd have suggested one of the more practical books lining one wall of the room – and was flicking through it. "You're in no state to do anything else so just let the medicine do its thing." He was right, but Law didn't want to admit it.

Not for the first time, he cursed his poor immune system, and the outbreak of flu on the winter island they'd landed on the day before. As soon as he'd realised they'd landed in the middle of a contagious epidemic Law had retreated to the Polar Tang, well aware of his own immune system's failings, leaving his crew to try and find uncontaminated supplies. But it had been too late – the virus had already struck, and his crew were uncompromising on their 'no Ope Ope no Mi' stance.

Bepo was apologetic for navigating them to such an island, but Law didn't blame him. The combination of Log Poses and the resulting lack of knowledge about the islands ahead meant his navigator had no way of knowing there would be an illness outbreak just as they arrived. The poor Mink had then apologised for apologising and Law had sent him to the control room with Penguin to lead them further into the Grand Line.

It would probably be another several days until Law was on his feet again, but he wasn't going to let that stop his advance towards vengeance.

For the time being, he caved and closed his eyes, letting the medicine drag him into a healing sleep, to Shachi's murmured approval.

"Get well soon, Captain."

Thanks for reading!
Tsari